14 | JANUARY 2020
News
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
Launching in March 2020, Sheerline® is set to revolutionise the way aluminium
windows are made, installed and sold says Garnalex CEO Roger Hartshorn.
SHEERLINE® IS ALUMINIUM,
BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
After decades of PVC-U
dominating the residential
window market, aluminium is
on a roll. Over the past 15 years
residential aluminium sales have
grown steadily thanks to the pop-
ularity of aspirational bifolds and
large, slim sliders. Around 50% of
installers now sell at least some
aluminium and most see this
trend continuing to grow.
Like these installers, I think
aluminium is the future.
So when I started to look at the
aluminium sector, I was surprised
at how little investment there’s
been since the 1970s and 1980s.
In contrast to PVC-U windows,
which have been transformed in
looks, performance and deliv-
ery, not much has changed with
aluminium. Aluminium windows
and doors look much the same,
and are fabricated and installed
in much the same way as they
were decades ago. Viewed with
my technical background, I’d say
aluminium has had an innovation
bypass over the last 30 years.
However the biggest shortfall I
see is in the levels of service and
support, where PVC-U leaves
aluminium standing.
Reinventing aluminium
We established Garnalex in
2018 to address this and to
transform the entire customer
experience of aluminium. Our
aim is to start an aluminium
revolution by reinventing the
way aluminium windows are
fabricated, installed and sold.
We’ve recruited the best
technical, design and produc-
tion brains in the industry and
invested over £9m in a state-
of-the-art aluminium extrusion
facility to ensure that quality
and service are built into our
foundations. That’s the first big
difference with Garnalex. Most
aluminium systems companies
buy-in aluminium profiles and
components, while we manufac-
ture both. We aim to have full
control over the products we
sell, so we can offer unparal-
leled levels of reliability to our
customers.
We’ve been sharing images
and videos of the factory as it’s
been coming together over the
last few months on Twitter and
LinkedIn, but it’s hard to show
the true scale of the factory and
the level of investment if you’re
not walking around it.
improved
‘ efficiency,
leading to
higher quality
and outstanding
service
’
For example, as part of our
commitment to sustainability,
we’ve invested in our state of
the art SMS HYBREX aluminium
press which uses up to 55% less
energy than a traditional press.
This 170 tonne behemoth uses
9-inch aluminium billets to pro-
duce up to 4 tonnes of extruded
aluminium an hour.
We’ve also totally integrated
manufacturing, logistics and SAP
with our in-house GarnerSys
software for improved efficiency,
leading to higher quality and out-
standing service. That’s another
difference. With a clear focus on
quality, Garnalex was recently
accepted to join ‘Made in Britain’,
an organisation that recognises
excellence in manufacturing and
promotes British-made products
across all sectors.
Changing the way
aluminium is made,
installed and sold
Our technical and design
teams have spent the past 18
months studying aluminium win-
dows and doors. They examined
everything from performance
and looks to how products
are extruded, fabricated and
installed. They even looked at
fabricators’ experience of service
and customer support to develop
a new window system, and the
service that supports it, from the
ground up.
The result is Sheerline®, a
next-generation window and
door system that’s been engi-
neered for performance, looks,
ease of manufacturing and
installation - and service and
delivery. Sheerline windows and
doors are designed to be easy
to install and a dream to sell.
We’ll be telling you more at our
March launch, but fabricators
and installers who’ve seen it say
Sheerline is #TheFutureOfAlu-
minium.
You may have received a letter
and postcards inviting you to our
Sheerline Ambassador Work-
shops. We’re hosting a series of
workshops from early 2020 to
give fabricators and installers the
opportunity to meet the team,
see our state-of-the-art factory
and learn more about this truly
innovative system. The response
has been instant and phenomenal
- we’ve had well over 120 RSVPs
in the first couple of weeks, and
the invitations haven’t all gone
out yet.
Fabricators and installers who
want to be the first to sell
it can register their interest
in Sheerline Ambassador
workshops by emailing Eilidh
Hudson, Sales and Marketing
Manager at Eilidh.Hudson@
garnalex.com, calling 01332
883960 or registering online at
www.sheerline.com/contact